


Yes Men

by Persiflage



Series: AoS Alternate Endings [13]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Ending, Episode Related, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Older Man/Younger Woman, POV Skye | Daisy Johnson, Secret Missions, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-16 23:48:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3507200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Persiflage/pseuds/Persiflage
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye and Coulson go on a secret mission, searching for answers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Yes Men

**Author's Note:**

> The dialogue at the start of this story is taken straight from the episode 'Yes Men'. And it's ending leads into 'End of the Beginning'.

It's the evening of the third day since Skye and Coulson left the others at the Hub to go in search of answers about the GH-325 drug. It's the fifth day since her conversation with Coulson in which he'd revealed just what the source of that drug was, and as she lies beside him, listening to his quiet and steady breathing, she goes back over their conversation then – he'd come into the medipod with such a serious face, and after sending FitzSimmons out, he'd shut the door and Skye had taken a seat on her bed, one leg tucked under her.

"I know that face, and something gives me the feeling I should be sitting down for this."

He sighs. "I've been looking for a way to tell you this. Looking around for some answers, something to help explain – But I don't have any. So. The drug, the one that saved us both – When we found it, I discovered something else – It's source. It was – " He pauses for longer this time and swallows before continuing, "alien."

Skye's eyebrows go up. "Alien, as in unfamiliar."

"No."

"Wow."

"The minute I learned what it was, I tried to keep them from injecting you with it, but I was too late. I'm so sorry, Skye."

"You were trying to save my life. You did save my life," she points out.

"I was desperate to," he admits, and she files that admission away for later consideration. "And so I subjected you to unknown ramifications or side effects."

"I'm sorry to say this, sir, but so what? We are alive. And you've had that stuff in you for some time, and you're okay, right? Plus, you're not sprouting a pointy tail or anything, so bonus there."

He gives her a slightly exasperated look. "I know nothing fazes you, but this should faze you. We are completely in the dark on this."

She shakes her head. "That's where we live," she reminds him. "I'm an 084. Who knows what the hell that means? At least we're in the dark together."

He nods, half smiling at her. "Yes. But not for long. To hell with any protocols or any code I used to be bound by. We have a long list of questions we need answers for, and we're going after them ourselves."

Skye can't help being a bit turned on by Coulson right at this moment – she knows he's been a SHIELD agent his whole adult life, and has lived by their protocols pretty much religiously. To hear him declare that he's going to abandon them for the sake of finding answers for her and himself? - that is definitely sexy.

"Well, if the team is up for it – " she begins.

"No. No, listen to me." He steps in closer to the bed and speaks in a lowered voice. "I trust them, but we need to protect them from this. Fury went to dangerous lengths to keep this under wraps. Lied to me, lied to SHIELD. This is a powerful secret. A secret men died for. Until we know why, we can't share this with anyone. For their safety, and ours."

_Wow!_ she thinks, flattered that he wants her to work with him, but also excited about the idea of them having a secret mission together. She's not stupid, she knows he doesn't care about her in the same way that she cares about him – but the fact that he went to such great lengths to save her life, and that he's now proposing to ignore SHIELD's protocols to help her to find answers is definitely a sign that she's important to him, more important than she'd previously realised, and the thought makes her warm all over.

She nods to show her understanding. "Got it. So what'll it be, AC? What do we go after first?"

"The person responsible for this," he tells her, pointing at her stomach. "And we make him pay."

Two days later they take Lola, and leaving the rest of the team at the Hub, they set off, ostensibly so Skye can be debriefed by some senior agents about Quinn and Cybertek, but in reality they are heading to the Fridge to interrogate Ian Quinn.

Coulson had given Skye her official SHIELD badge the same day that they'd agreed to find answers for themselves, and that gives her official SHIELD clearance to various SHIELD databases, but Coulson's also entrusted her with his own clearance, and she uses it to organise transport for them to the Fridge, a one hundred storey building which can only be accessed via the roof.

Coulson's Level 8, which means no one questions his right to visit Quinn, even with a brand new Level 1 agent in tow.

Unfortunately Quinn, even with encouragement of both the chemical, and later, physical, kind, gives them nothing new on the Clairvoyant. He hasn't even met the mystery man or woman who gave him his orders.

Coulson had been obviously frustrated by Quinn's lack of information, and he spends the first hour that they're in the safehouse where they're staying overnight, in pacing back and forth, ranting and raging angrily.

He only calms down again when he notices that Skye is keeping a careful distance from him – she's never seen him so angry before, and she'd honestly been unsure whether or not Coulson was actually going to kill Quinn there and then when they'd been at the Fridge.

He flings himself down onto the couch opposite the chair in which Skye is curled as she works on her laptop. "I'm sorry, Skye," he says softly. He runs his hands through his hair, then pulls the knot of his tie loose.

She sets her laptop down on the coffee table between them, then moves around it to sit beside him.

"This is only day one, AC," she reminds him, allowing her shoulder to briefly brush against his as he leans his head against the back of the couch. With his tie loose and his shirt collar unbuttoned, his throat is exposed, and Skye is getting the urge to run her teeth up the bared column of his neck, to suck on his Adam's apple, before climbing into his lap in order to kiss him and do other things she has no business thinking about doing with the man who is now her senior officer.

"I know," he says, sounding weary, then he opens his eyes, and Skye has no idea what expression she has on her face when he looks at her, but she sees his eyes widen, his pupils going very dark as he licks his lips in a very deliberate fashion that makes her utter a soft, involuntary moan.

His eyes get even wider and he looks as if he wants to devour her on the spot. She sways towards him without even realising she's moved until she sees how close his face is.

"Skye."

"Yes," she agrees, not that he's actually asked her anything, but she's pretty sure she knows what he wants, and she knows very well what _she_ wants.

He clasps her upper arm and she leans in even closer; his hand slides up to her shoulder, then tangles in her hair at the back of her neck as he leans nearer to her, and then his mouth is on hers, and he's kissing her.

He kisses her firmly, but not aggressively, and it's Skye who persuades him to open his mouth so she can slide her tongue inside. He tugs at her slightly, and she needs no further encouragement to climb onto his lap, moaning as she feels the press of his hard cock beneath her.

She leans into him, aware of how hard her nipples are growing, and how wet she is becoming as he gently pulls on her bottom lip with his teeth.

"Fuck," she gasps as he slides his right hand up her thigh.

"Yes," he says, sounding breathless.

"Please," she begs, not caring that she is begging.

He chuckles, but not unkindly, then opens her shirt, his hands cupping her breasts as he begins to thumb her nipples.

"Coulson," she moans.

"Phil," he tells her, slipping off her shirt and bra, and she nods, trying to catch her breath as he squeezes her breasts before lowering his mouth to suck and kiss, then bite softly on first one breast then the other.

She swears, sure her panties must be soaked by now, as her body jerks against his.

"Did you just come?" he asks, sounding curious.

She nods, her body suffused with heat, and he gives her a dangerous smirk.

"I've never before got a woman off so fast, and never just by putting my mouth on her breasts," he tells her, clearly a little smug at his achievement.

Not that Skye can begrudge him being smug – it's totally deserved, she feels, because no guy's ever got her off like that before.

After that they'd properly fucked, then showered, before having dinner together, and Coulson had been quiet, but not in a bad way; the silence while they worked separately had been companionable, and when he'd said "Let's go to bed" she hadn't felt a moment's doubt that he meant for them to sleep together.

By day they've been totally professional; from the Fridge, they'd gone to the Triskelion, hoping to find Director Fury, but he's off somewhere, and no one seems to know where. They have a brief conversation with Maria Hill, who tells Coulson that Fury had told her that he'd buried the intel on Project TAHITI when he'd decided not to bury Coulson, which had been annoyingly cryptic. So they've spent hours in the archive trying to dig up the information from there – Coulson's plan being that if they can find the Project Director, the senior agent in charge, then they can cut out the middleman and go to him or her, instead of trying to get the information from the absent Director Fury.

They've spent two whole days at the Triskelion and are no further forward than they were when they arrived, and Skye can tell Coulson's getting antsy about not finding the information they want. But as she lies beside him tonight, she has an idea as it occurs to her they should take Fury's comments literally. 

AC-S-AC-S-AC

The next morning Skye's woken by the press of Coulson's erection against her ass as he spoons her, but he's still asleep as far as she can tell. She likes this, though, likes having completely unfettered access to him, and she wishes it could continue once they're back on board the Bus, but she knows it's unlikely. For all he'd said 'To hell with protocol' and is happily fraternising with her while they're away from their team, she suspects that once they go back he'll soon slip back into his 'good soldier' persona.

So while they're out here on their own, she's going to enjoy every moment of his company and make the most of his desire for her. With that in mind she shifts in his arms and carefully guides his cock between her legs – it's not inside her, just nestling between her thighs, and it feels pretty good.

After about five minutes, though, his arms tighten around her and his fingers brush against her breasts. 

"Good morning, Phil," she says, as casually as she can manage.

"Fuck, you feel good," he mutters, and she can't help smirking in the early morning light.

"You don't feel so bad yourself," she tells him, then presses her ass back against him very intently.

"I wanna fuck you like this," he tells her, his breath hot on her ear. She groans her approval, then lifts her leg so that he can slide his prick into her slick heat.

They both moan in pleasure as he fills her, and Skye tightens her muscles around him. He groans even more loudly and she chuckles a bit wickedly: Coulson has superb control, she knows, but that's even more reason to tease him – and she's quickly discovered both that he likes to be teased, and that she enjoys teasing him. She'd never had that with a lover before, and she thinks it might be because Coulson's older and much more confident in himself than any of her previous lovers.

Afterwards, as they lie spent and sated, Skye snuggles up to him and asks, "How much longer do you want to stay here?"

His hand, which has been idly stroking up and down her back, stills, then he asks, "Are you bored?"

She lifts her head from his chest and looks at him as she answers, "No. But this feels like a dead end, info wise, and I've had an idea about what Maria Hill told us."

His hand resumes its movement as he asks, "What's your idea?"

"You've told me in the past that Director Fury's a very sneaky guy, which makes sense for the man running SHIELD. So what if he meant it literally when he told Agent Hill that he'd buried the intel when he didn't bury you – what if he put it in your grave? I'm assuming that there is a fake grave for you somewhere?"

She's watching his face as she speaks and she sees the exact moment when he gets it. "You're probably right," he agrees, his voice full of admiration.

"So, trip to New York?"

"Mmhmm." His agreement is muffled by his mouth landing on hers, and any further attempts at conversation are curtailed as Coulson kisses her intensely for several long minutes.

"You're a very smart woman, Agent Skye. I'm so glad you're on my team."

She chuckles, then kisses him back for a bit, just because. "We won't be able to do this when we go back, will we?" she asks. "I mean, I know you said 'to hell with protocols', but your job means you'll have to abide by them once we return to the Bus."

He looks at her, rather sadly she thinks, and she feels a little fearful as she asks, "What?"

"I might not stay in SHIELD," he says softly, and Skye can only gape at him in shock.

"What?"

He shrugs. "I'm not sure I want to continue working for an organisation that uses a dead alien's body to bring people back to life."

She snaps her mouth closed, then swallows hard, swallowing down the rush of panic and fear she feels at hearing him talk about leaving SHIELD; she feels that she has no right to argue with his point of view, and in view of how much _she_ hates being lied to, she can easily see why he would feel that way. The thought of continuing to work for SHIELD without Coulson there is a painful one, but she says nothing, she just nods an acknowledgement, then climbs from the bed.

"I need a shower," she tells him, pleased that her voice sounds normal when she speaks, then heads into the ensuite.

She's standing under the hot spray, but not doing anything more, when Coulson opens the door quickly and steps inside before swiftly closing the door again.

"Is this okay?" he asks, and she appreciates him asking, and especially that he does so before he puts his hands on her.

"Yeah," she says, and he steps in behind her, then reaches up to grab the shower gel off the shelf, and begins applying it to her body.

After lathering up her back and shoulders and ass, he gently turns her to face him and says, "There are a couple of things I need to tell you."

"Oh?"

"The first thing is that this isn't just about sex for me, and I'm not saying that to put any pressure on you – I just want you to know that I want to be more than just a fuck buddy. But if that's all you want – "

"It's not," she says, cutting him off immediately. "I love you, Phil. You're the most important person in my life, and being with you is something I've wanted since pretty much day one. I mean, yeah, the sex is amazing, but that's not all I want from this."

He smiles, then leans in to kiss her soft and sweet. "Good. We're on the same page on that, at least. The second thing is that I'll want to discuss with you any decision I come to about staying with or leaving SHIELD. You've worked really hard to become an agent, and your hard work paid off – if I could've got Fury to bump you up to Level 3, I would've, but certain other Level 8 agents objected. You have a lot of potential, Skye, enough, I'd say, to carry you right to the top if that's where you want to go. So if I choose to leave, but you want to stay, then you should."

"Thank you." She reaches out and pulls his head down for a brief kiss, then takes the shower gel from his hands and begins lathering him up.

After they've showered and dressed, Coulson sets about making them breakfast while Skye organises their transport to New York. There's only one Bus, but there are troop carriers aplenty, so she requests a ride on one of those.

AC-S-AC-S-AC

"Have you ever visited your grave before?" she asks they walk through the cemetery a few hours later.

"That'd be a bit morbid, don't you think?" he suggests, giving her a half smile.

She shrugs. "I guess."

When they reach the grave, Skye's appalled by how lacking the gravestone is – just Coulson's name, and dates of birth and death. She feels insulted on his behalf that there's nothing else, and when he points out that it's just a fake, she scowls.

"It's the principle of the thing," she tells him her voice pained and raw even to her own ears.

He shakes his head, smiling at her in what she supposes could be categorised as a fond fashion. "You ready?"

She nods, and they take off their coats, and in Coulson's case, his suit jacket and tie, then rolls up their sleeves, before they set to work. They've waited until dusk to begin this in the hope of reducing the amount of unwelcome attention they'll draw.

It's hot, grimy, and tiring work, but eventually they reach the coffin, and Skye climbs out of the hole to bring nearer one of the lanterns they brought with them. Coulson breaks open the coffin and she sees a small canister lying inside. He grabs it and passes it up to Skye, and she twists it open and slides out a thumb drive.

"I think we've hit the jackpot," she tells him, and he nods as she pockets the canister with the drive back inside, then helps him out of the grave so they can fill it back in.

Coulson drives them to the safe house where they're staying tonight, and they take it in turns to shower and change their clothes before Skye sets her laptop down on the coffee table in front of the couch, and puts in the thumb drive. Coulson sits beside her and she's a little surprised when he takes her hand in his, but she gives his fingers a reassuring squeeze before she hits play on the video file that's the only thing on the drive.

After they've watched it, Coulson's only comment, initially, is a sort of stunned "Huh". Which makes sense to Skye if he's half as surprised as she is at the revelation that _he_ was the one who'd been Director of Project TAHITI.

"Well, that was unexpected," she says cautiously after a long silence.

"Yeah."

She shifts around on the couch, pulling up her legs to sit cross-legged facing him. "Phil, you okay?" She thinks it's pretty obvious that he's not, but she needs him to talk to her.

"Skye?" He sounds scared, she thinks, and she can't blame him – she doesn't know what Hypergraphia or aphasia are, but it's pretty obvious they're not good things.

"I'm here, Phil," she tells him, holding onto his arms.

"How could I do that to people?" he asks, sounding horrified, and like he might cry.

"How could Fury do _that_ to you, after you'd told him how dangerous it was?" she demands, because for her that's the more worrying question. Coulson's told her he's not the same man he was before and now they know that's literally true, because there's no way the man sitting beside her on the couch right now would ever be involved in something like Project TAHITI.

He pulls away from her carefully and gets off the couch, pacing away from her with his hands shoved into his pockets. 

She watches him for a while, then asks, "What are you thinking?" 

"That I shouldn't be around you or anyone else any longer," he tells her tersely. "I'm dangerous."

She gets to her feet and goes to him, putting a hand on his back, and he flinches slightly, but doesn't pull away, which she takes as a good sign. 

"Phil," she says softly, "you're no more dangerous now than you were two hours ago before we knew you were in charge of Project TAHITI. Plus, as we discussed a few days ago, you've had that stuff in you for nearly a year without having any side effects, so maybe they refined it some more between you resigning as Project leader and them using it on you?"

He sighs. "Maybe." He starts to turn towards her and she moves around to meet him, wrapping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Maybe you should talk to Jemma?" she suggests.

His body stiffens in her arms, then relaxes again. "Maybe I should," he agrees.

"We still don't know who the Clairvoyant is, of course," she observes, "but we can go on working on that, back onboard the Bus, can't we?"

"Are you saying you want to go back?" he asks.

"Don't you?" she asks in return. "Or did you mean it, when you talked about leaving SHIELD?"

"I need to think about it," he says. "I really want to talk to Fury."

She tightens her hold on him. "I know."

He sighs. "Yeah, we should probably go back to the Hub and pick up the rest of the team."

She lifts her head and kisses him carefully. "Let's do that," she says. "And I can tell you about my latest idea for finding the Clairvoyant. I'll need to work with info from the Index, though."

"All right." He kisses her back. "Why don't you call May and get her to come and pick us up? And I'll make a start on dinner."

She nods, and he disentangles himself from her arms, and she grabs the satphone to call Agent May for a pickup. She's enjoyed this time alone with Coulson, of course, but it'll be good to be reunited with the rest of their team, even if it does mean she and Coulson won't be sleeping together any more.


End file.
